“The United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon. But Trump’s words are still corroding democracy and public safety.” Many people try to make excuses for his abhorrent words, “but they do matter. The president’s continued encouragement of violence—and of white nationalism—is part of the reason that white-nationalist violence is increasing.”

“Boeing’s belatedly grounded jets” serve as “an apt symbol of the erosion of U.S. soft power. After saying there was no problem in the wake of two crashes,” the FAA followed the lead of other governments and banned the 737 MAX.” These days, “even allies are increasingly skeptical of Washington’s leadership.” It is challenging to measure “the influence a country wields though its cultural, technological and economic strength,” but the U.S. fell “to fourth in the Soft Power 30 ranking last summer, from top of the list just two years earlier.”

The lack of an agreement with North Korea, as well as Trump’s other disappointments are dimming “the mystique central to his political appeal as an instinctive deal maker who can get his way through bluffing, charm and lightning business reflexes.” The reality couldn’t be more different. “In fact, Trump has shown more proficiency in breaking deals than making them after pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris global climate pact and abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive multilateral trade deal.” His presidency is turning into “the art of the no deal.”

“In Germany, a Cold War deal to host U.S. nuclear weapons is now in question” as debate “flares up for the first time since the 1980s.” Chancellor Merkel’s coalition partners “are reconsidering their support for a decades old arrangement that puts Germany under the U.S. nuclear shield, a development that could further undermine the country’s already-tense relationship with the Trump administration.”

“Before the fear of being blown up on a plane, or a train, or a sidewalk gave millions of people sleepless nights, before the threat of global climate disaster stirred dread, nuclear annihilation was the stuff of nightmares.” Then the U.S. and Russia took a step back. With the end of the INF Treaty and the Start Treaty set to expire, the nightmares may return. They shouldn’t. “Outspending Russia on a nuclear arms race, as Mr. Trump has bragged he would do, or abandoning an arms control regime that has helped forestall nuclear war for decades, is a foolish game of chicken, with no possible winners.”

Foxconn is scaling back its plans to build a giant plant in Wisconsin. “At first glance, the Foxconn reversal confirms that American manufacturing is in trouble.” Other “recent wobbles” have included a Tennessee plant closing by Electrolux and Caterpillar’s disappointing results. “A closer look, however, suggests manufacturing is undergoing a revival, especially among agile smaller firms and those using advanced techniques.”

“With his ratings down and state funds needed to hedge against new Western sanctions and raise living standards, Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot afford to get sucked into a costly nuclear arms race with the United States.” The tell could be seen after Donald Trump pulled out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Putin indicated Russia would do the same thing, but he “did not up the ante.”

In recent decades, per capita GDP has doubled in the U.S., but “the bulk of the bounty has flowed to the very rich. The middle class has received relative crumbs. If middle-class pay had increased as fast as the economic growth, the average middle-class family would today earn about $15,000 a year more than it does, after taxes and benefits.”

“Thank heavens for Berkeley.” The liberal enclave “was an early adopter of curbside recycling and banned polystyrene…30 years ago, way before it was hip to do so.” And now Berkeley is becoming “the first California city to take on the challenge of crafting a truly comprehensive plan to reduce single-use plastic trash.” The waste-reduction initiative Berkeley is enacting “could serve as the test case for other cities and states.” The liberal bastion has “answered the call to think beyond bags and straws.”

“Two years after taking the oath of office, US President Donald Trump has made 8,158 false or misleading claims, according to The Washington Post’s database.” What’s more, he is picking up the tempo. “The President averaged nearly 5.9 false or misleading claims a day in his first year in office, but he hit he hit nearly 16.5 a day in his second year, almost triple the pace.”